


So You Have a Genius Daughter? A Guide to A+ Parenting, by Howard Stark

by LokasennaHiddleston



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Howard, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Tony, Fluff, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Good Parenting, Hydra (Marvel), Multi, POV Howard Stark, POV Outsider, Protectiveness, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, the land of AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-05 21:15:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10317119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokasennaHiddleston/pseuds/LokasennaHiddleston
Summary: In one world, Howard had a daughter, not a son. In one world, he realized she was a rule breaker and a genius, just like he was. What would things have been like had he looked at her with protectiveness, not disappointment?Or the one where Starks make their own way, Tony is still as much of a genius as ever, but gets the dad she deserves, Jarvis is secretly omniscient, and Howard takes over Hydra through the sheer power of being a over-protective dad. It's easier than handling his daughter's taste in men.





	1. Always Remember Proper Lab Precautions

**Author's Note:**

> So... I don't usually write genderswap stories, largely because the MCU did such a great job with casting that assigning the characters different genders feels weird. Still, this idea kept bugging me, and in the end, I succumbed. Sometimes, you just need to write a happy story - after writing something angsty. Not that Howard is perfect in this - he's still Howard - but he'll be a loving dad.  
> In a way, this is the equivalent of my Thorki AU (Frigga's Guide to A+ Parenting) but IMPORTANT NOTE - they are not related. I do have some things to address in that one on the Midgardian front, but this is an entirely different universe.  
> Also... I will never call girl!Tony Natasha, and I'm too lazy to remember to write the name with an i. She's still Tony, after all.

1974

Few people remembered that Howard Stark had been born in Lower East Side, in a family struggling with poverty. He'd clawed his way to the top through sheer determination and genius, but also through a fair amount of rule breaking.

These days, even those who knew him from back then knew better than to bring up ancient history—but the lessons had stuck with Howard, all throughout his life.

This was why, when his wife burst into his office in complete exasperation, pointing accusingly at their daughter and screaming, "Do something about this, Howard!", Howard took one look at the clenched jaw of the little girl and saw himself.

It didn't start that way, of course.

Howard didn't fool himself. He knew he wasn't a good man, or a good father, or a good husband, for that matter. He'd married Maria late in life and largely because he had needed an heir for the company. He loved her in his own way, but he was too busy with SI and SHIELD to give her the attention she needed. And when the child had come... Well, suffice to say, having a daughter had been a disappointment.

He had hoped for another child, a son, but the pregnancy had been hard on Maria and Howard was getting on in years. Exasperated, Howard had left the child in Maria's care, hoping that at the very least, Maria would raise her appropriately so that they could later procure a husband who could take care of SI.

In hindsight, that had been a stupid idea. He was surprised Peggy hadn't punched him in the face for even thinking it.

Antonia—or Tony, as she insisted to be called—was not like Maria. She displayed no interest in pretty dresses and dolls and dancing. She was constantly underfoot, trying to sneak in Howard's labs, much to his very vocal annoyance. Maria was a good woman, and she had done her best, but she was just as unprepared for hurricane Antonia as Howard.

And now, here they were, with Maria on the verge of a breakdown and Tony hovering nervously in front of Howard's desk. "She refuses to listen to me, no matter what I say!" his wife said. "I can't... I just can't, Howard."

Tony flinched as her mother stalked out of the room, leaving the slight traces of Italian perfume behind. Howard got up from his seat, and Tony actually took a step back.

It was painful to see her shy away from him, like she expected him to hit her. Howard thought about Steve—little Steve with his big heart—and realized just how ashamed Captain America would be of him right now.

"Tony? Come here."

She was clutching something to her chest—but not a doll or a plushie, because that would have been too plebeian for a Stark. It was... a circuit board?

"Show me what you've got there."

Tony licked her lips nervously and padded to Howard's side. Her hands shook when she passed Howard the item.

Howard analyzed the circuit board carefully. It wasn't perfect—but then, she was only four. She must have sneaked into his workshop to get the materials. Howard didn't even want to know how she'd managed that. Jarvis, most likely. He indulged her far too often.

Then again, considering that Howard himself had largely ignored her existence, maybe that hadn't been such a bad thing.

Tony fidgeted at his aparent lack of reaction. "I... know it's not very good..."

"This is very well done, baby," Howard cut her off. The endearment sounded alien on his own lips, but it also came naturally, so... Maybe that was what he was supposed to say? He went with it.

Tony's eyes widened at the praise. "Really?" she squeaked. "You... like it? It's good?"

She was shaking, clearly unable to believe this was happening. Howard smiled at her, and she only looked even more surprised. Had he never done it before? He couldn't remember. That probably wasn't a good sign.

"Very well done," he said instead of dwelling on that. "Not that I'm surprised. You are a Stark, after all." Howard continued, because at this point, it was clear that stopping wasn't an option any longer. "Don't worry about your mother. I'll talk to her. We're Starks, and Starks make their own way and follow their own rules. Understand?"

Tony nodded, and her brown eyes glowed with hope and awe. Howard picked his daughter up in his arms. How strange, to realize that he'd never done so before. Why had he ever even waited?

Her small hands were bleeding, he noted. She must have cut them while she'd been working on the circuit board. Something fierce and protective rose in Howard's chest. "Now... You and I are going to have a conversation about proper laboratory precautions. Don't think I didn't notice the cuts on your hands. If you're planning to be a scientist, you need to take care of your hands. Remember this, Tony. An engineer's hands are the most important thing he—or in this case—she has, second only to his or her brain."

Tony still looked a little dazed as Howard carried her out of his office. Predictably, he bypassed Jarvis. It was humbling to note that Jarvis was already carrying a medkit. Clearly, his butler had already known about Tony's predicament. The look Jarvis gave him was both painful and satisfying, because how many times had Jarvis gone through this exact process while Howard had been completely ignoring Tony?

For a few seconds, they just stared at one another. Jarvis had been in his employ for so long now that he wasn't shy in expressing his disapproval, but never had it been more obvious than at that moment.

It was Tony who broke the stalemate between then. "Jarvis," Tony said excitedly, "look. Daddy likes what I did."

"I see that, young miss," Jarvis said, once again snapping back into his role. "I did tell you. After all, how could he not?"

How could he not, indeed.

Jarvis turned toward him once again. "Sir," he said simply, passing Howard the medkit. "For the young miss. Dinner will be ready in an hour."

And he was gone, leaving Tony alone with Howard. Howard carried his daughter to her room and tended to her hands.

It should have felt strange, but it didn't. It felt right. And when he spoke to his wife later that evening, he told her, "We have a beautiful, smart daughter, Maria. I'm not going to clip her wings."

Maria let out a heavy sigh. "I'm going to regret asking you to step in, aren't I?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. I suppose we'll just have to see."

"I suppose so."

They had no idea then just how right they both were.

****

1976

By the time Tony was six, Maria had given up all hope of ever raising her as a proper young Italian woman. It was for the best, since it was never going to happen, and even if Howard was prone to challenging the laws of physics, there were some things even he knew he could not change—one of them being Tony's temperament.

He liked to say Tony was as stubborn as Captain America. Tony preened whenever he made the comparison.

Maria did reach a compromise with Tony. She would endure the "pretify"-ing when they went to galas and parties together, since she was expected to be there as the Stark heiress. In exchange, Howard spent time with her in the labs and occasionally told her stories about Captain America and Bucky Barnes.

It was as much for his sake as it was for Tony's. There were few people he could share the stories with now. For Peggy, they were painful memories, and even he knew best than to claw his way through the jagged wound Steve's death had left behind. She was married now, had children of their own, but Steve had been so important for them both that the thought of him ever being forgotten was abhorrent.

So... Tony.

Tony loved it. She treasured her replica of the shield Howard had made during the war. Then, one day, she came up to him and asked, "What did the Howlies use during battles?"

That was how he introduced her to her very first gun. It was a Colt M19911A1, an old weapon, issued back in the 50s, long before Tony had been born. It wasn't the same one Bucky Barnes had used—that one had been lost with him, in that fateful mission on the blasted train—but it was the same model.

"You'll teach me how to shoot it, Daddy?" Tony asked as she reverently ran her fingers over the gun he was still holding.

"I will, baby," Howard promised, "but not today. Jarvis is already giving me the evil eye for showing you the guns to begin with."

Tony pouted, but she understood. The threat of Jarvis's disapproving face was more efficient than Howard had expected. It was a good thing too, because for all that she was a genius, Tony was still a child. Howard did not want her to try to shoot weapons quite so soon. She would need to, eventually, but maybe... A few years along the line.

"Worse still... I might yet unleash your mother on you again. I believe this morning she was saying something about... pastels being a necessary in a young woman's wardrobe?"

At a different time, the undisguised horror on Tony's face would have taken Howard aback. Now, it secretly amused him. In fact, he'd reached a point when he thought it amused Maria too, and half the things she did were on purpose, meant specifically to get a rise out of him and Tony.

After all, Maria might not have been born a Stark, but there was a reason why he'd married her.

His distraction was only moderately successful, though. When Tony spoke again, her voice shook slightly and the words nearly stole Howard's breath. "Daddy? Do you think Captain America and Bucky would have liked me?"

It was at times like these that Howard got the nasty reality check and the reminder that for the first years of Tony's life, he'd been an absent parent at best, and an abusive one at worst. Some days, he didn't even know why Tony loved him as much as she did.

Thank God for the forgiving hearts of children, he supposed—although chances were he would never forgive himself.

He quickly shoved back his self-deprecating musings, because Tony was waiting for a reply, and he couldn't afford to hesitate. "Oh, they'd have absolutely loved you, baby." He smiled softly at his daughter. "More than they liked me, probably. Should I tell you a little secret?"

Tony nodded, the lingering traces of insecurity vanishing, chased away by her excitement. Howard set the Colt aside and pulled his daughter into his lap. "Steve hated my guts in the beginning. He was sweet on your Aunt Peggy, you see... And well, that was before I married your mother."

Hmm. Maybe this wasn't a child-appropriate conversation. Oh, dear. Too late.

"I teased him mercilessly about it. And when Bucky and the other Howlies joined in... Well, he'd get as red as the paint on the shield."

He had no idea how much Tony understood, but it must have been more than Howard himself expected. He couldn't hide his nostalgia, and Tony saw right through him. "Do you think you'll find him and bring him home, Daddy?" she whispered.

"I certainly hope so, baby. At least... At least one of them."

He'd never found Bucky. He had tried, in Steve's honor. He and Bucky Barnes had never been close friends, but Bucky and Steve had been tight as brothers and Howard had seen Steve's grief after the train. So... He'd done his best to track down Bucky... But there had been no sign of his body in the Alps, not even of his bones, nothing. He could only assume the animals must have gotten to his remains first. A grizzly end to a good man.

And Steve... Steve had been swallowed by the icy waters of the ocean, together with the wreck of the Valkryie.

He shook his head, pushing back the dark thoughts. "I have another expedition coming up in two months. You want to come with me, baby?"

Predictably, Tony nodded in enthusiasm. "Yes! Yes, Daddy!"

They didn't find Steve during that expedition, or the next, but neither Howard nor Tony were willing to give up. Somehow, someday, they would bring Captain America home.


	2. Don't Mess with the Starks

1980

By the time Tony was ten, it was well known that she was the apple of Howard Stark's eye. He had taken her with him to Stark Industries on several occasions. The workers cooed over her when he dressed her in work-appropriate clothes. She was curious and inquisitive and brilliant—and quite possibly, far more intelligent than Howard had ever been.

And yes, there were the occasional assholes that insisted that a woman's place was in the kitchen. Howard couldn't have cared less. Obie had only made a comment once. "I'm not sure you should encourage her in this, Howard. I know you love your daughter, but you need a real heir. A woman can't lead a weapons company."

"I disagree," Howard said, smiling sharply. "And Tony is special. She's a genius and a Stark. She'll lead the company once I'm gone—and that's all there is to it."

Obie didn't bring it up again.

Tony would change the future—Howard just knew it—and she was a Stark through and through. And Starks made their own way—just like he had, when he'd clawed his way out of the gutter. She had the disadvantage of being born a girl in a world that looked down on her for it, but she would be up to the challenge.

Howard loved her to distraction—which was why, when she disappeared, he totally lost his shit.

It wasn't that he hadn't been careful. Of course he had been. He was well aware that Tony was a high kidnapping risk. Whether for money, weapons or revenge, Howard was a popular target. He'd made many enemies throughout his life, and many of them would not hesitate to use an innocent child against him.

But all the bodyguards he'd placed on her while she was at school proved to be useless. Jarvis found them dead when he drove to the school to pick her up.

When he found out, Howard almost broke down. If he didn't, it was because Maria burst into tears, grief-stricken by the loss of their daughter. "Howard... Howard, we need to get her back."

Howard nodded, but he did not know where to even start. The kidnapper had left no traces—none. The bullets used on the bodyguards were untraceable. Nobody had seen or heard a thing. He was stumped. He hadn't felt so helpless since he'd held a weeping Peggy Carter in his arms, the day Captain America had gone down with the Valkryie.

Jarvis took refuge in the kitchen, but his hands shook on the tray when he brought Maria some tea. For the first time in years—or rather, in ever—Jarvis's wife, Anna, burnt dinner, and nobody really cared. Howard didn't touch his food, and Maria stared at the plate blankly, like she couldn't understand its purpose.

And then, the phone rang. Howard would have taken the call, but Jarvis got there before he could do so. "Stark residence. Yes. I see. Of course."

By the time Jarvis passed Howard the receiver, he already knew who the call was from. That didn't mean he didn't experience an unpleasant jolt when he heard it said almost outright. "Mr. Stark, I believe you are already aware that we have... procured something of interest to you," the male voice at the other end of the connection said smarmily. It had a slight Russian accent. Howard wondered if his dealings with Vanko were coming back to bite him in the ass.

He didn't recognize the voice, though, so he gritted his teeth and tried to remain calm. "Perhaps," he said. "There are many people who say they have something that interests me."

The man chuckled. "Interesting."

There was a bark of Russian at the other side of the connection. " _Soldat_." A few seconds passed, while Howard struggled madly not to hyperventilate. Then there was a shuffle, like the phone was being passed to somebody else, and a new voice echoed in Howard's ear. "Daddy?"

It was a single breathed out word, but it nearly brought Howard to his knees. "Tony? Tony, baby, are you all right?"

Tony didn't get the chance to reply. After that lone word, she was once again replaced by the kidnapper. "Interested now?"

"Yes, of course." He didn't bother with pretense of aloofness. "What do you want?"

"You will meet with me tomorrow night, at a location I designate. You will bring with you one million dollars. No tricks. No companions. You will come alone."

He rattled off an address, which Howard quickly committed to memory. He knew better than to trust the kidnapper, but what else could he do? This wasn't just your regular day crook. Whoever had taken Tony had resources. Maybe he was related with Vanko, or maybe he wasn't, but he'd already killed Tony's bodyguards—chances were that he would not shy away from killing Tony if Howard refused.

"Do we have an agreement, Mr. Stark?"

"We do," Howard agreed.

Just like that, the conversation ended. The sound of the dial tone echoed in Howard's ears almost ominously. Maria practically pounced on him once he set the phone down. "Howard?"

"He asked for money. I'm to meet him tomorrow."

"Oh, Howard... Do you really think he'd give us Tony back?"

Howard shared a glum look with a still pale Jarvis. He didn't know. In his heart, he suspected it was a little more complicated than a simple kidnapping for money. But he couldn't make things even worse for Maria. "He will. He has to. I'll met him tomorrw and I'll get her back. You'll see, Maria."

He didn't know if Maria believed him, because she just buried her face in his chest and cried. That night, none of them really slept. It was just as well that Howard had work to do. A million dollars was a lot of money, and it took some effort to procure liquidities on such short notice.

Still, he managed – and by the next evening, he was set up with the required sum in a leather briefcase. He kissed Maria goodbye before he went and nodded at Jarvis. "Good luck, Sir. We will be waiting for news."

Howard drove to the meeting point feeling mildly dazed. It was a simple parking lot—not even particularly watched. There were other cars there, but no people Howard could see.

A masked man emerged from the shadows—pointing to one of the parked vehicles. "Inside," the man said. His voice was muffled by the strange half-mask he wore, but Howard had the feeling that even without it, he'd have sounded just as flat and robotic.

The idea of being in a small space with this man didn't appeal in the slightest to Howard. He had known many deadly people in his life—and he recognized the military stance of the stranger. Despite the fact that it was dark, Howard noticed at least three types of guns on the man, plus what was likely an army knife. He stared at the car. "Where's my daughter?"

The masked man fixed him with an implacable gaze. "Inside," he repeated.

It wasn't a reply to his actual question, but Howard had no choice but to comply. As soon as he got in the car, the masked man bound Howard's hands and blindfolded him.

Howard had expected it—but he dearly hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake by going along with the kidnapper's requests.

He made a single attempt to initiate a conversation. "Who do you work for?" he asked.

The masked man didn't answer. In fact, if not for the fact that the car started, Howard might have believed he was alone in the vehicle. He resigned himself to waiting and seeing what would happen.

Howard got his first surprise when they reached their destination and he was freed from the blindfold. Interestingly enough, the building where he had been brought wasn't an abandoned warehouse or anything like that. It was an office building, associated to the Roxxon Corporation. Howard recognized the sigil on the wall. He mentally flinched—the fact that they'd brought him to a recognizable place didn't bode well. He might have been blindfolded until now, but in the big picture, that meant nothing.

The masked goon ushered him along into the structure and to a small office. Another man was already inside, looking for all the world that he was an employee of Roxxon doing some overtime.

When Howard and his silent companion entered the office, the man set his paperwork aside. "Good evening, Mr. Stark." He smiled, although the expression didn't reach his eyes. He was the same person Howard had spoken with on the phone. "I'm so pleased you could make it to our meeting."

"Well, I did say I would follow your instructions. I have your money. Where's my daughter?"

The Russian looked at the briefcase Howard was holding—and promptly dismissed its presence. "It's not the money that we want, Mr. Stark."

Great. He'd been right about that bad feeling. "Then what do you want?" he asked.

"You," the stranger replied simply.

"Me?" Howard repeated. "You have me. I'm here. Just... Let my daughter go. Please."

It was a bad idea to show vulnerability in front of these people, but there was no point in trying to pretend anyway. They had him by the balls. They knew Tony was everything to him, and without her... To get her back, there was nothing Howard would not do.

The Russian nodded at the masked man, who briefly left the room. He returned mere minutes later—although to Howard, it seemed to take far longer than that—now guiding Tony along. She was clearly scared, a little bit bruised, but otherwise unharmed. "Daddy..." she whispered. She wasn't crying, Howard noted. So brave, his little girl.

"It's all right, Tony. I'm here now. We'll figure it out."

She made a move like she wanted to run to him, but the masked man clenched his hand around her small shoulder. She flinched, and for the first time, Howard noticed there was something wrong with the man's arm. It was metalic—some sort of prosthetic? Howard wanted to rip it off—that, and his flesh limbs too—because he had dared to lay a finger on Tony.

The masked man was the least of his problems, though, since he wasn't the one calling the shots. "Here is my offer, Mr. Stark," the Russian said. "You get your daughter back and our assurances that you and your family will be safe in the future. In exchange, you work for us."

"Us? Who is "us"?"

His original idea that Vanko was behind this didn't explain Roxxon's involvement. It could be related to the KGB, he supposed. He just couldn't be sure.

None of his theories prepared him for the actual reply. "Hydra," the man said.

Howard narrowly managed not to let out an undignified gasp. Hydra? It wasn't possible. Hydra had died with the Red Skull.

Except, apparently, it hadn't. "The new Hydra has already grown," the man told him, "a beautiful parasite, within the organization you yourself created, Mr. Stark. And now, it is time for you to join us."

Within seconds, Howard realized what the man meant. With Operation Paperclip, the US had brought in scientists that had previously worked with Hydra. They had not left their previous allegiances behind, which meant that a great deal of SHIELD's dealings in the past twenty years were suspect.

Arnim Zola had been just one of them, and while he was dead now, he'd undoubtedly done his damage before his demise. He should have done something about it then, but for all that he had been the head of SHIELD, it hadn't been solely his call. And quite frankly, at the time, it had seemed like a good idea. Zola had been a distasteful individual to say the least, but his intelligence could not be denied.

Well, it was too late for regrets now. It was time for damage control.

"Well, Mr. Stark?" the Russian prodded. "What do you say?"

It wasn't a difficult choice to make. "All right," Howard replied. "I'll join you."

The man smirked. Howard smiled back when his daughter's kidnapper introduced himself as Vassili Karpov. He even shook Karpov's hand and didn't falter for a second while doing so. He knew how to play this game. He had played it many times before.

After all, he had worked on the Manhattan Project. His hands were already stained with blood. He was not afraid to shed a little more.

Before he left, Karpov gave the still-present Tony a telling look. Howard held his daughter's hand and nodded at the man."I'll handle it."

"Make sure you do."

Howard didn't reply. If Hydra thought they could control him and Tony... They had another think coming.

****

Tony was the only one who knew about the deal Howard had struck to keep them safe. "That's going to be my mission, baby," he told her shortly after the kidnapping. "I'm going to take down Hydra from the inside."

Maybe telling her that was selfish, but he didn't want her to ever see him as evil. She had grown up seeing HYDRA as the proverbial boogie-man. But if she didn't understand, she would be in even more danger. Clearly, Karpov had some sort of plan for her if he had allowed her to be present for their meeting. Perhaps, had he said no, he had intended to use her instead.

It didn't matter—because Tony understood his reasoning and his situation. "It's dangerous," she pointed out.

"It is," he admitted, "but some things need to be done, no matter how dangerous they are. Remember how Captain America rushed into battle at Azzano? Like that."

Tony nodded. "So you're going to take Hydra down. For Captain America?"

"For Steve, yes. And for you and for your mother."

Because Tony needed to live in a world that was safe from Hydra domination, and it was apparent that at one point, he'd made a huge mistake. Because Maria's tears had reminded him just how bad of a husband he'd always been. Because for fuck's sake, he loved his family—and he would be damned if he let anyone, anyone mess with them.

Clearly, Tony realized this too, but she also wasn't going to let things go so easily. "I want to help," she said, setting her jaw stubbornly.

Howard had another flash of a moment when he was reminded of Steve Rogers and the stubbornness of a man who refused to stay down no matter what Hydra threw at him. He swallowed around the knot in his throat.

"You will," he said, because saying "no" to Tony now would have probably resulted in a bigger disaster than usual Tony-refusals. "Once you are ready."

Tony opened her mouth, perhaps intending to protest, but Howard stopped her before she could say a single word. "No, baby. You have to listen to me on this one. It's too risky if you're not prepared. Proper procedures, remember? Not even Captain America went into battle against HYDRA without being ready."

Hell, Steve had gone through Erskine's experiment before going up against the evil Nazi cult. Howard dearly hoped he would not have to go through that again. He had been studying the serum for years, but he wasn't comfortable enough with his formula to try to give it to anyone—let alone his daughter. God, no. That way lay madness.

"You'll leave this up to the adults for now, baby. And in the meantime, we'll get you started on lessons of self-defense. You'll be ready to take Hydra on before you know it."

In the end, Tony listened. Peggy supported him, for all that she didn't know the exact reason behind it. Even after all these years, she was still a crackshot, and she had experience with fighting people bigger and stronger than her. Maria and Jarvis were similarly overjoyed, especially when Howard decided to pull Tony from school and hire private tutors instead.

And if Howard hovered a bit more than he had before... Well, nobody really blamed him for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No idea what a proper ransom would have been around the time period when this is taking place - so I just chose a more or less random number. If anyone knows, do let me know in a comment and I'll change it.


	3. Encourage Initiative and Monitor Role Models

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... I'm back on this story too. I'm trying to catch up on stuff I left unfinished. Hope you guys like where I'm taking it.  
> I made one modification to the chapters before. I decided to date them, so you'll have an idea on the timeline. It's not particularly important as I'm not that much of a history buff, but I figured it may be useful.  
> For the purpose of this fic, Tony is born in 1970, as stated in male Tony's MCU file.

1984

It took years, but Howard got his long-awaited revenge. Vassili Karpov, the man who had kidnapped Tony four years back, was finally dead. It had taken a great deal of effort on Howard's part, but he'd done it—and no one but Tony was aware of it.

Fourteen-year old Tony leaned against the back of the couch and arched a brow at him. "Biological agent? No one's going to track it down to you?"

Howard arched a brow right back, and Tony nodded. "Right. Fair enough."

"Don't worry about me, baby," Howard told Tony. "You know I'm always careful and I know how to cover my tracks." He reassessed his words and groaned. "I can't believe I'm talking about committing murder with my teenage daughter."

"It's not murder," Tony said off-handedly. "Well, it is... But it doesn't really count. It's kind of like... Pest control."

It was difficult to argue with that logic, and honestly, she wasn't wrong. People like Karpov were the scum of the earth. They simply needed to be wiped away so that everyone else could thrive and survive.

He still wished Tony hadn't been so jaded at age fourteen though. He'd gone through several wars and had so much blood on his hands he would never be able to wipe it off. It wasn't what he'd wanted for his daughter.

Unfortunately, he was hardly in a good position to start a moral debate with Tony.

"Do you ever wonder what Captain America would think if he saw you now?" Tony asked softly.

"I like to think he'd understand. Steve was like that." But he'd also been a genuinely good person. It was why he'd been picked for the super soldier program to begin with. "To be honest, Tony," he added, "I really don't know. We might never find out."

Tony nodded. At this point, they'd both made their peace with the fact that Captain America would probably never be found. Howard had not stopped his expeditions, but he knew that if he did find something, it would only be a body.

This left them all the more surprised when the past came back with a vengeance. In hindsight, Howard should have known getting rid of Karpov would bring about additional consequences. He hadn't thought that one through.

He only realized the huge mistake he'd made one night, when he got a very unpleasant visit from one Wolfgang von Strucker.

Howard had only spoken with Strucker a handful of times. He was primarily in charge of Hydra's operations in Europe, so he rarely came to the United States, which was just the way Howard liked it.

To his credit, Strucker didn't try to break in. He knew Howard's security was top of the line, not unbreachable, perhaps, but definitely a challenge. He simply drove up to the mansion in an inconspicuous dark green car. Jarvis alerted Howard—still awake and in his lab—regarding the presence of the unwanted visitors. Grimacing, Howard sent his butler away and told him to stay out of sight at all costs. Only then did he let Strucker in.

"Baron," he said as the man got out of the car. "This is a surprise."

"Herr Stark. I do apologize for disturbing you in your home, but we have a small... issue."

"An issue. And it couldn't wait? It's too risky to discuss such matters here."

"I'm afraid it's urgent."

Howard let out an aggravated sigh. "Fine. Show me."

Strucker made a call, and soon, a black van showed up. Once it was safely in his garage, two Hydra members left the front of the vehicle and opened the back doors.

The man who stepped out was the very same one who'd once kidnapped Tony, metal arm and black mask included. The difference was that this time around, the arm was visibly damaged.

"This is the Winter Soldier. He was... damaged during a mission."

"I take it you want me to fix him," Howard said, making a simple, educated guess. "Come on. We'll take this to my lab. Bring him."

Strucker looked pleased by Howard's easy acceptance. He probably would not have been so pleased had he known what Howard was actually thinking.

The Winter Soldier. Howard had read about the project—it had been one of the many Karpov had been involved with—and he had made the connections between the name and the man with the metal arm. However, a large part of the project was still classified, especially since the Winter Soldier was technically the property of the Red Room.

Right then and there, Howard couldn't have cared less about the Soldier's ownership. He just wanted the assassin, Strucker and the rest of the Hydra agents out of his house.

Maria and Tony were sleeping and Jarvis had been warned to keep his distance. Obviously, Howard had not kept the truth from him, but he did not think Strucker would be happy to see the secret of Howard's cooperation with Hydra leaked to a mere butler.

The rest of his staff tended to stay out of the house altogether, since Howard was paranoid regarding his inventions. Still, there was a reason why he kept this sort of thing away from his home, and the thought of his work with Hydra spilling further into his personal life made him break out in cold sweat. Hydra members tended to have itchy trigger fingers and they'd kill anyone who was deemed a security risk.

Unfortunately for Howard, the arm required a lot of work, and soon, disaster struck. The door to his lab burst open and Tony came rushing in. "Dad! I just had the greatest..."

Tony trailed off when she processed what she had walked in on. Howard mentally cursed himself for the moment of weakness he'd had when he'd given her the codes to his lab.

The air in the room seemed to freeze. The voice inside Howard's head screamed louder and he could barely think. Somehow, he managed to push back his panic and forced himself to speak. "Baron Strucker, this is my daughter, Antonia. Tony, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker."

Tony blinked, and a charming smile appeared on her face. It looked like she had learned a thing or two from Maria—and from Howard himself—because she showed no sign of being disturbed by this development. "Herr Strucker. It's an honor to meet you."

"Fraulein Stark. I assure you, the honor is completely on my side. I've heard a great deal about you."

Tony took a few steps forward, fake smile still firmly plastered on her face. She was still in her nightgown, but fortunately, Maria had managed to hammer the necessity of her wearing a robe over it if she got up in the middle of the night. "You flatter me," she said. "If I may ask, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Howard really wished she hadn't asked, but he understood why she'd done it. Tony had already seen the Soldier in the chair. They couldn't go back and pretend she hadn't, and Tony never had been a very patient girl.

"We have a small technical problem," Strucker said, pointing in the Soldier's direction.

His shrewd eyes analyzed Tony's every action, but there was no lapse for him to notice. Tony looked at the Soldier and grimaced. "Oh dear. That looks... most unfortunate. And it's longterm damage. With respect, Herr Strucker, is your... staff not instructed in the most basic lessons of proper weapons care? I learned that when I was six."

She leaned over the arm, ignoring the man it was attached to entirely. "Honestly... This is a disaster. Yes, most unfortunate indeed."

"Nevertheless, your father assures me it can be fixed," Strucker pointed out.

Howard shared a look with Tony and tasted bile in his mouth. He couldn't pull her aside, couldn't show weakness. If he did, it would all be over. He knew very well that this wasn't easy for her. The Soldier had been the one to kidnap her when she'd been young. But she wasn't a little girl anymore, and they were no longer in the position they'd been. Howard couldn't protect her anymore.

"Tony's better than me at robotics," he said. "She can do it. Isn't that right?"

"Sure thing, dad. I'd be happy to get my hands on this baby. Besides, there's no point in having a faulty weapon. Where would we be if we couldn't fix one?"

"Where, indeed. By all means, Fraulein Stark. Proceed."

As Tony started to work on the arm of a placid Winter Soldier, Howard pulled Strucker aside. They could not leave the lab—God only knew that Howard refused to leave his daughter alone with the dangerous assassin who'd kidnapped her—but they could give Tony some space.

"I admit, this isn't what I expected when I came here," Strucker said. "I may have underestimated you, Herr Stark."

"I don't think it's me you underestimated," Howard said, allowing himself a small, smug smile.

"True. It appears you have raised an heiress worthy of your legacy and your empire."

Oh... He had absolutely no idea.

****

Starting that day, Howard regularly brought Tony in with him at Hydra. He hated the fact that he had to expose her to that kind of environment, but there was no other way, and they had to continue their work. Tony refused to be left behind, and Howard had made her a promise he could not take back.

At first, things went fairly well. Tony mostly stuck to Howard's side and was only peripherally involved in what they were doing.

It was during this time that they finally learned who was hiding behind the black mask of the soldier. The first time he saw it removed, Howard thought he was imagining things. Surely, this couldn't be true. Surely, Bucky Barnes couldn't have returned from the dead, in the person of the Winter Soldier.

But it was. Upon doing some discreet research, Howard soon learned that Barnes had been found by the Russians after his fall from the train. Arnim Zola had been the one to outfit him with the arm after he'd managed to barter his way out of SHIELD custody, continuing the experiments the Red Skull had started. Barnes—or rather, the Winter Soldier—had been active as an operative of the Red Room, acting as both an assassin for the Russians and as 'the fist of Hydra'.

Tony was not happy with these revelations. She practically worshipped the legend of Captain America and Bucky Barnes and predictably wanted to help him.

Fortunately, she realized all too well that they were not yet in the position to do so. They were forced to wait.

Then, Tony met Madam Hydra.

Ophelia absolutely hated Howard, but she adored Tony. It was very rare for a woman to rise up in the ranks of an organization like Hydra, and while Tony had the benefit of being Howard's daughter, she was nonetheless incredibly intelligent and strong in her own right.

Madam Hydra never took apprentices of her own, and it wasn't like Tony always had time to train with Ophelia. She had her own projects in robotics and was soon supposed to start going to MIT. Still, they compromised, and Tony started taking more and more lessons from Ophelia.

Tony began to wearing skintight clothing, much like her 'mentor'. She was already excellent at shooting a gun, but she began to train in other weaponry too, more non-traditional ones like the whip. Her expertise in hand-to-hand combat increased.

Slowly, Howard began to fear that he was losing his daughter to Hydra and that soon, the idealistic girl who had sworn to uphold Captain America's ideals and help Bucky Barnes would be gone, melting in Madam Hydra's venom. And the worst thing was that Tony did appear to show some affection to Ophelia in turn. She loved Peggy and Maria, but they had yet to share their secret with Peggy and while Maria knew, she could never fully understand or give Tony any help. Ophelia was different. She was a real soldier Tony could learn from. Suffice to say, she was also the worst possible role model Tony could ever have.

He wasn't shy in expressing his concern to Tony. Tony's response both surprised him and not. "You're right, Dad. I know I'm getting a little too close. You know... This is the first time I've actually felt conflicted about what we're doing. I know I really shouldn't be, but... She's nice to me."

"I know, baby." Howard sighed. "It's much easier when they're all assholes like Karpov or Strucker. But we need to keep our eyes on the prize."

Tony nodded. "I'll be careful. I won't forget. I promise."

One week later, Tony found Ophelia ordering a wipe on Bucky Barnes. Tony was forced to just stand by and watch as he screamed. She never brought up being conflicted again.

Instead, she said, "They were people once. She was a person once. Now, she's just a monster."

Two months later, Madam Viper died in a laboratory accident. She had been experimenting with poisons, as was her habit. Apparently, she managed to create one that was so virulent it surpassed her well-known immunity.

It was also the very same biological agent that had been discovered in Vassili Karpov's blood stream. Nobody could be certain as to why Madam Viper had wanted to assassinate Karpov—but she hadn't exactly been the sanest person, and she'd disemboweled more than one Hydra goon just for being there at the wrong time.

The loss still hit Hydra hard, and had a secondary side effect.

"We need a new handler for the Winter Soldier," Strucker told Howard.

Howard was not surprised at this development. Baron Strucker simply didn't have the time to deal with the Soldier on top of everything else, which was why Ophelia had been the one officially in charge of him. "And you want me to take care of it?"

To his shock, Strucker shook his head. "Not you, Herr Stark. I was thinking about your lovely daughter."

Naturally, Tony agreed. "I'd be honored," she said with a smile.

And so it was that a young Antonia Stark became the handler of the Winter Soldier, and the rehabilitation of one James Buchanan Barnes started.


	4. Do Not Pursue Violent Impulses Regarding Your Daughter's Romantic Interest. Other Violent Impulses are Acceptable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back :) Aren't you happy with me? Thank you for everyone who kudos-ed and commented since my last update. As you can see, I haven't forgotten about you, even if I am currently focusing more on other fandoms than this one.  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!

1988

Tony's eighteenth birthday was the first time the Winter Soldier took initiative in any way.

Howard found out about it long after the whole thing was over, and only clean-up was left to be done. In hindsight, perhaps he should have paid more attention to what was going on at her party, but it hadn't occurred to him that it would end in such a disaster. He had retired only for a few minutes to check on some files. Nick Fury was looking a little too closely into his activities, and Howard had to decide how to handle it.

He considered Nick a friend, but if Nick endangered his long-time mission... It could become a problem. As much as he hated the idea, he would not hesitate to put out a kill order should Nick ever become a true danger. Howard's family was far more important, especially now that Tony was getting even more involved in Hydra.

And then there was Alexander Pierce to consider. He'd heard some interesting things about the man recently. Howard had been aging, but he'd had trouble coming up with someone to watch SHIELD should he decide to retire. Pierce had been competent, but a little too inclined toward diplomacy for Howard's tastes. Nick had the ruthlessness, but he was too willful to be trusted with such a volatile situation. Peggy was obviously not a good idea. Howard's best option had seemed Mitchell Carson, but this whole incident with Bogota and Pierce's daughter changed things.

Perhaps he could shuffle things around a bit, depending on whether or not Pierce could be brought on board. After all, his long term plan was to introduce people who weren't complete maniacs in Hydra, and Pierce may be likeminded enough to fit the bill. It was something to consider.

Then, there was Hank Pym. The man truly was a genius and his work with the Pym particle revolutionary, but he insisted on keeping his invention to himself. Howard supposed he could understand that, but still, he wasn't completely sold on Carson's idea of trying to replicate the particle.

He had his hands full with exploring the potential of the super-soldier serum, and Pym was a dangerous enemy to make, taking into account all the secrets Howard was hiding.

A knock sounded at the door as he flipped through the files. "Come in," he called out.

His visitor turned out to be Tony. She was beautiful, a vision in hot-rod red, her dark curls framing her cheeks like a black halo. It was actually a good thing that she'd chosen to wear that color, because her dress was splattered with blood.

"Tony?"

"Obie's dead," Tony said, sounding a little shell-shocked. "Yasha... Uh... " She pointed at the dress, which, considering the circumstances, was probably an eloquent description.

"Tony, what the hell? I thought you had him under control."

Anger flashed in Tony's eyes, and her back went ramrod straight. Howard was reminded that the very first time she had killed a man—or rather, a woman—it had been for the Winter Soldier.

"He did it for me. Obie... Touched me. You know... Like that."

Something inside Howard turned to ice. "I see," he said. "Where are they now?"

"The garden."

Howard had every intention of asking Tony to lead him to the location of the incident, but he never got the chance. They ran into Jarvis just as they were leaving Howard's office. Sometimes, Howard wondered if Jarvis didn't have a super-power of his own like Tony claimed he did. "The super-power of being a British butler," she had told him once. "Knowing exactly when and where he is needed."

It appeared to have kicked in once again, because Jarvis took one look at Tony and said, "Your dress is stained, young miss. Come. I think I can set aside a change of clothes for you."

"Okay. I'll be back in a bit, Dad."

Howard allowed himself a moment of weakness and kissed her temple. "Don't worry about anything, baby. I'll handle this."

As Jarvis guided Tony away, Howard made his way through the house. It was only when he entered the garden that he realized he should have asked her for more specific directions. He needn't have worried.

The Winter Soldier came out of nowhere. Even after all these years, Barnes's ability to just manifest out of the shadows never ceased to amaze Howard. He had learned to mask his surprise well, but sometimes, he really wished his life involved less drama and more straightforwardness.

Today was perhaps not one of those days, because he had never been more grateful for the Winter Soldier's presence.

"I hope you killed him slowly," he said without preamble.

The Winter Soldier nodded. He wasn't smiling—he never really smiled—but there was something like satisfaction in his eyes. "Da."

"Good. The body?"

"Set aside for suggestions of situation containment."

Howard gave the situation some thought. He had no idea who Obie—no, Stane, never Obie, not again—had talked to last and who would have seen him go into the garden, but this needed to be covered up, fast.

In the end, the Winter Soldier drove the body away in Stane's car and got in a deliberate accident. Howard provided him with everything he needed for an explosion that would eliminate any suspicion of wrongdoing.

The rest was easy enough to handle. After all, he was the head of America's intelligence aparatus. If he couldn't cover up a simple murder, where would he be?

And he would have to look into why in the world Obie had thought he could get away with something like manhandling Howard's daughter. If he'd missed something and Tony and Maria were in danger because of it, he would never forgive himself.

****

1988-1991

Obadiah's death brought some interesting and unwelcome revelations. It appeared he had been working with terrorist cells abroad and secretly planning to remove Howard... permanently.

That didn't necessarily explain the fact that he had approached Tony sexually, but still, it was something that needed to be handled before it became a bigger problem.

Between doing damage control with the terrorist cells and keeping control of SHIELD and Hydra, it became even more difficult for Howard to wrangle everything he had on his plate. He was being run ragged. Thus, Tony had to step up and get more involved with SI.

It wasn't a huge change. She had already graduated from MIT the year before, and he had been slowly giving her more responsibilities. She slid in by his side like she was meant to be there.

For a good couple of years, things went well. Once Tony took over, SI began to look deeper into robotics. Her first attempts during her MIT showed promise, and she really believed that one day, she would be able to make a far more developed, learning AI.

They were also making real progress in the field of human prosthetics. Naturally, Howard knew this to be heavily influenced by Tony's constant work on the less that ideal arm Bucky Barnes was outfitted with, but he deemed it harmless.

And then, he found Tony making out with the Winter Soldier in the couch on her office at Hydra.

His mind went blank.

Tony hadn't shown much interest in men in the past. There had been some dates at MIT, but she had been so much younger than the boys there, and he might have been a little overprotective in that field. She had dated Tiberius Stone, and he had been most relieved when she'd dumped him. For a while, it had seemed like James Rhodes would be an issue, but in the end, that hadn't worked out either, as Tony proclaimed him to be "too good" and "unable to understand".

Howard would have regretted the fact that he'd involved his daughter in the whole Hydra business more, except he wasn't in a rush to have his daughter get down and dirty with anyone.

Apparently, he'd made a serious miscalculation, given the fact that the Soldier's hand was straying in distinctively indecent territory.

They both jolted the moment Howard walked into the room. Tony's eyes widened and she stammered, "D-Dad... Umm... Hi." She shot Barnes an ugly look. "I thought you locked the door, Yasha," she hissed in Russian.

The Winter Soldier appeared flustered. Flustered. How was that even possible? He had seen that man take out a whole group of enemy soldiers without blinking an eye. And now... This? "Err..."

The exchange did not please Howard in the slightest. Clearly, this wasn't a new development. "Can you... Explain this, Tony."

"Yasha and I are dating." Tony replied. "Obviously."

Howard wanted to drop to his knees and weep. This was what he got for demonstrating weapons care on a copy of Bucky Barnes's gun. He'd probably set her up to fall for him from the very beginning.

It was a punishment. It just had to be.

Instead of retrieving his gun and shooting himself—or Barnes, which was even more appealing—he said, "Tony... He doesn't even legally exist."

Tony just glowered at him. "We're Starks. We make our own way."

And of course she would say that, because he had been telling that for years. God damn it.

He turned toward the now stoic-looking Winter Soldier. "And you... What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I know I don't deserve your daughter, Mr. Stark," he said. "After everything I've done and what they turned me into... I thought sometimes, that maybe it'd have been better if they had left me in that ravine. But if I was brought back, it was for a reason, and I think now it must have been for her—for Tony."

It was the first time Howard heard the Soldier call Tony by her name. Hell, it was probably the most he'd heard the man speak outside a mission report since he'd fallen in a crag in the Alps.

"You've been holding out on me Tony. How long has this been going on?"

It was Tony's turn to fidget. She looked down at her shoes, her cheeks stained red, her previous confidence drained out of her. Howard tried not to think about what that meant, and utterly failed.

Clearly, the Winter Soldier had hidden a great deal of his true self, which could only be Tony's idea. Howard remembered being young and horny, and Barnes was technically in his twenties. The whole thing with Obie made so much sense now. If Obie had seen the two of them together or been a threat to Barnes in some other way, Tony may have decided to hide it and provide Howard with the sexual assault excuse, even if Obie hadn't actually approached her in that way. But Howard didn't want to discuss that right now and he really didn't want to know if his daughter had lost his virginity to the Winter Soldier in some Hydra base either. He suspected that if he asked, he would lose all sanity and would do something they would all regret.

"Nevermind. Don't even... Don't even tell me." He glowered at Barnes. "You'll marry her, obviously. None of this sneaking around business. I don't want the next Stark heir to be illegitimate for God's sake."

The Soldier—no, Barnes—stared at him like he'd just sprouted two heads. Tony's eyes were as wide as they had been over fifteen years back, in the office, when he had first praised her on her motherboard. "Dad?"

But Howard wasn't done yet. "And if I ever hear a word about you harming a hair on her head, you'll wish for the chair, you hear?" he continued.

Tony visibly bristled—the chair was a low blow, and Howard knew it even as he said it—but Barnes didn't flinch. "I understand."

"Good."

Technically, he could have used the trigger words, ordered him to stay away from her. Other than Tony, he was the only one who knew them anymore. Since they were not sure how to actually get rid of the triggers, Howard had painstainkingly tracked down all the remnants of the Winter Soldier program and destroyed every single bit of information. Nevertheless, he had an eidetic memory, and he had never forgotten.

But if he used that information, or worse, if he wiped Barnes, Tony would never forgive him. "I've never been able to change your mind on anything. I can't imagine your boyfriend is any different. And really... He's probably the safest guy you could date. Better than Stone, anyway."

Barnes twitched, the servos of his arm whirring. "Most people would be better than Stone."

There was a story there, but Howard decided not to pry further into his daughter's romantic life. It would have probably been easier had Tony not patted Barnes's metal arm, as if to reassure him that she was there, not with some douchebag, then leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. Barnes turned at the last moment, and the kiss landed on his mouth.

It was probably involuntary, but Tony just melted against him, clearly forgetting that Howard was even there.

Howard's first instinct was to tear them apart. But, at the same time, he could acknowledge it was an irrational impulse.

She had grown up so fast, too fast. She'd been trained how to kill and she'd seen things Howard would have very much preferred to protect her from.

How could he blame her for falling in love, of all things?

He cleared his throat lightly, which caused the young couple to jump away from one another. Barnes looked like he was going to start apologizing again, but Howard didn't give him the chance. "I guess it's time for Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes to make a reappearance," he said.

It would take effort and a lot of manipulation and favors, but the smile Tony gave him told him he'd made the right decision. And well... If nothing else, Maria would be ecstatic at finally getting to plan a wedding. God only knew she'd almost given up hope on Tony finding someone to make her truly happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, just a quick note. It would appear that, according to the MCU canon, Bucky may have ended up with Hydra shortly after falling into the Alps (which should have been obvious given the flashback, but I didn't realize until recently). I am still a little confused about the timeline of the MCU WS's work to be honest, because in CA: WS, Bucky talks in Russian and he does have the red star on the arm, which shows Russian affinity. Anyway, for the purpose of this fic, I'm sticking with my original idea - which is that he was originally with the Red Room like in comic canon. Thus the nickname "Yasha", which I pretty much just used because I like it :)


End file.
